Procrastination is overrated. Therefore, we, The Pearl Post newspaper staff, shouldn’t do it. We’re responsible for informing, representing and helping the school. News never waits, so why should we?

This year, our staff has grown in size this year, with most of the staff members being new and haven’t acquired experience. Our long-term goal is for them to be able to have as much knowledge by the end of the year.

Our short-term goal is to work together as a team and help each other when someone’s having a bad day. Yes, being on the staff is hard work but we have to understand each other’s weaknesses and cope with them. There are those who make excuses about everything, those who lose patience and respect, but the key is to keep on trying and understanding.

The staff’s hard work has paid off.

In April, at the state write-offs hosted by the Southern California Journalism Education Association, two editors and two photographers received awards. Features Editor Chris Bower placed third in opinion writing and Managing Editor Natalie Moore placed seventh in news writing. As for photographers, Jake Dobbs placed fifth and Ana Perez, now Yearbook Editor, placed second.

Perez and Moore are two students who saw many accomplishments throughout the year. They each won $500 scholarships to attend the Digital RENOvation workshop.

Editor-in-Chief Carlos Godoy was among the 41 students from across the country selected to attend the Asian American Journalism Association’s J-Camp in Washington D.C. in June.

We may be entitled to bragging rights, but what is most relevant is that we can function as a team without a single nut or bolt missing. The awards we’ve won show that the expectations are higher this year, but they’ve been possible because we’ve had an unbreakable bond.

We’ve had our luck as well. However we’d call it hard work and determination. In April at the San Francisco Journalism Convention, the National Scholastic Press Association awarded The Pearl Post 10th place in Best of Show, for both print and online. We were also a Pacemaker Finalist for the online newspaper that we started last September.

Over the summer, our print and online publications each placed second at the 55th Annual Los Angeles Press Club Awards.

On that note, it is up to the staff to take leadership in the newsroom. The rewards are endless, as are the possibilities. Let’s stick together as family and make the new school year successful.